Category Archives: social networks
It’s in the Cloud
Last week, I wrote about Google’s new social networking project called Google+. Some have been focusing on its similarities to Facebook and Twitter, but looking at Google+ strictly as a social networking tool doesn’t quite capture the full picture of what Google is trying to accomplish. As this post points out, Google+ is really about getting people to the cloud, specifically Google’s cloud of web apps that include Gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Google Reader, and more.
Cloud computing is yet another term that is often debated for its meaning and impact for users. The Wikipedia article on cloud computing provides some basic ideas about what it is and some of the risks or issues surrounding it. For the average person, I think it helps to think of it simply as moving more of your life, work and personal, online. For example, instead of using desktop software such as Microsoft Office, you might use Google Docs instead, which is completely online. Documents, spreadsheets, and presentations are stored online and accessible from various internet devices such as a laptop, tablet, phone, or traditional desktop computer. Or, perhaps you no longer use a paper calendar but have all of your meetings and events on Google Calendar, which you can retrieve from a smart phone or any computer that has internet access.
By creating a social network to compete with sites like Facebook, Google is creating a world in which all of your computing activity is handled in one place and tied together. Check out what the new navigation bar looks like for people who are logged into Google+ or any other Google product.
I was already a heavy Google products user and am often logged in to at least one Google account throughout the day, but the introduction of Google+ to my daily routine has only strengthened that willing reliance on Google. And Google clearly is not the only one who is interested in capturing your attention and time online. Apple recently announced iCloud, which will be another option to store and access your music, apps, photos, documents, and calendar from any device connected to the internet.
It’s interesting to think about what this means for our students and faculty. Some of this shift towards an online student and teaching life has already happened with learning management systems, but we’ll only see more of it in the very near future. How can the library provide services and work alongside students and faculty where they’re working?
Library 2.Oakton 